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About The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (June 6, 2018)
Business Blue Mountain Eagle Wednesday, June 6, 2018 A3 Local medical supply service to continue Norco not to scale back as happened in Burns Contributed photo Pomp Latshaw works in the gardens at the Guyon Springs Inn in Dayville. The site is one of three in Grant County that will offer agritourism dinners this summer. By Richard Hanners Blue Mountain Eagle The Norco store in John Day will continue business as before, providing durable medical equipment such as beds and walkers, oxygen and related breathing equip- ment, splints and braces, in- continence supplies and oth- er medical equipment. That was the word from Eagle file photo Wayne Barker, the branch Darla Carpenter, the owner of Norco Medical, poses for a photo in the John Day store. manager at Norco’s office in The business will continue providing durable medical equipment after concerns that it could reduce its offerings to oxygen only. Bend. “Things will continue as normal,” he told the Eagle. beds. In addition to the hos- pice and assisted living fa- “Negotiations have complet- cilities, she estimated Norco ed. There will be no change services hundreds of private to service.” Word that the local Norco homes. store might scale back ser- Barker, the branch man- ager, said declining reim- vices to supplying only oxy- bursement rates from Medi- gen had raised concerns with care and other insurers over Grant County businesses the past years have signifi- that rely on Norco for med- cantly impacted rural areas ical equipment and supplies, across the United States. In including Blue Mountain The Eagle/Richard Hanners Central Oregon, the result is Hospital District, which op- erates Blue Mountain Home The Norco store in John Day is a stock point, meaning that only two durable medi- cal equipment providers re- Health & Hospice, and Val- it handles deliveries of equipment and supplies and not financial transactions. main in business: Norco and ley View Assisted Living. Lincare. Local concerns were re- inforced after the Norco In some cases, resi- pital District CEO Derek Norco’s goal is to provide store in Burns closed, and dents need access to cer- Daly said he began inves- quality service and still make reduced medical supply tain equipment and supplies tigating options once he a reasonable profit, which is service was offered by a re- right away, such as patients learned about the rumors. increasingly difficult in some spiratory therapist under the returning home from the The Norco store in John rural areas, Barker said. name Frontier Medical. emergency room or people Day is a “stock point” or Norco, through its trade as- Grant County residents who transition from assisted delivery location. Sales are sociations, lobbies Rep. Greg already deal with the eco- living to hospice. handled by the branch of- Walden and other political nomic impacts of living in “That could mean longer fice in Bend. According to groups to continue to support an isolated rural area. For hospital stays,” Valley View Melissa Chesley, who works rural areas. hospice and assisted living Administrator “We hope that wiser Stephanie at the local Norco store, the clients, along with disabled Rodriguez said. “We can’t store had expanded its offer- minds will prevail, but it’s and elderly residents who re- readmit people at Valley ings after Darla Carpenter a concerning issue,” he said. ceive special care in private View without the required became the manager last Chesley said Carpenter homes, not having a local equipment.” year and the local staff ex- will continue to manage the store with a ready invento- Norco store in John Day, Rodriguez said she was panded to four. ry of special equipment and devastated when she heard Chesley said the staff use and plans are to continue supplies could mean placing through the grapevine that their own vehicles to deliver stocking existing inventory an order and waiting one or Norco might reduce ser- supplies across Grant Coun- and to maintain the staff of vices. Blue Mountain Hos- ty. A van is used for moving four. two weeks for delivery. Peterson elected chairman of BEO board BEO Bancorp and its subsidiary, Bank of Eastern Oregon, upon completion of the annual shareholders meet- ing in Heppner, elected Joel Peterson as chairman of the board and Joe Gonzalez Jr. as vice chairman. Peterson joined the board in 1993 and is the current board’s longest serving direc- tor. He is president of Daily Bread Farms, a family owned farm near Ione. He and his wife, Lea, a middle school teacher, have three children. Gonzalez joined the board in 2015. He owns an electri- cal contracting business in Richland, Washington. He and his wife, Delia, live in Richland. “We are excited to have Joel and Joe lead the board of directors for the next year. Both gentlemen are active and engaged board members. Joel continues his service as chair of the funds management committee, also serving on the compensation and loan committees. Joe serves on the audit and funds management committees,” T-O Engineers celebrates 30 years in aviation Blue Mountain Eagle T-O Engineers, Inc., a full-service planning and en- gineering firm, is celebrating 30 years in the aviation sector. T-O Engineers has served the Grant County Regional Airport since 2012 and has successfully completed proj- ects including the reconstruc- tion of Runway 9-27 and de- velopment of the new Airport Master Plan. T-O is currently in the design phase of a proj- ect that will reconstruct the corporate and general aviation aprons and relocate the airport fueling facility. Aviation team members will be traveling to visit cli- ents throughout the Northwest and thanking them for their continued support. “We truly care about our clients and about doing things the right way,” said Avia- tion Services Manager Dave Mitchell. “We care about the communities we serve by improving their airports, and we work hard to help those Billy (Buddy) Iven Warren Born March 19, 1929 Passed away February 2, 2018 There will be a memorial service for his burial where he will be laid to rest June 16th at 1 p.m. at the Prairie City Cemetery. 61701 communities accomplish their goals for their airport.” said President and CEO Jeff Bailey. “The vast experience and leadership qualities of these two men will serve our shareholders well.” By Richard Hanners Blue Mountain Eagle Three inns in Grant County that have turned to agritourism to increase business and bring awareness of small agricultural producers in the area will host three special dinners this sum- mer featuring locally harvested seasonal ingredients along with an astronomy presentation. Guyon Springs Inn in Day- ville will host a dinner June 16, Land’s Inn in Kimberly on July 7 and Diamond Hitch Mule Ranch in Kimberly on Aug. 11. Dinners and the show are $30 per person. Amy Bilbeisi, a former Na- tional Park Service interpretive ranger, will provide an astron- omy show following each din- ner. The event helps to show- case Bilbeisi’s new business, Oregon Star Safaris, a mobile astronomical experience. Agritourism, a growing eco- nomic niche, involves commer- cial enterprises at a working farm or ranch conducted for the enjoyment of its visitors and to generate supplemental income for the owner. Activities for visitors might include outdoor recreation, educational experi- ences and on-farm direct sales. According to a 2003 survey of 400 Oregon cattle ranches by Oregon State University, 21 percent of the 177 respondents promoted agritourism and re- ported that agritourism con- tributed about 8 percent of their household income. Seventy-nine percent of responding owners reported their agritourism business was a success. About 82 percent of guests in the study were from Oregon, and 73 percent were repeat customers. About 38 percent of guests learned about the operation from friends or family. Some agritourism busi- nesses offer stays at a bed and breakfast. Educational opportu- nities range from experiencing ranch or farm work to attending cooking classes or wine tast- ings. Entertainment can include harvest festivals and barn danc- es. The Oregon Agritourism Partnership nonprofit estab- lished in 2014 works to connect the public with Oregon farms, ranches, wineries or other ag- ricultural value-added opera- tions. “Farm loops” to Canby, Farmland, Molalla and Marion feature pet farm animals, hazel- nuts and chocolates, festivals and rodeos and pick-your-own produce. Travel Oregon launched the Oregon Agritourism Network in 2015 to promote agritour- ism businesses. Travel Oregon also convened an Agritourism Working Group to identify six priority focus areas and devel- op a 2025 vision for agritour- ism. The Guyon Springs Inn din- ner on June 16 will feature tra- ditional lamb asado with meat from the Cade farm in Monu- ment, field green salad from the inn’s garden, Dutch oven spanakopita made with greens from the garden and strawberry shortcake for dessert. For tick- ets, call Kerri Latshaw at 541- 620-4950. The Diamond Hitch Mule Ranch dinner on July 7 will feature Painted Hills grilled sirloin, cheese from a local fromagerie, seasonal grilled vegetables and local greens and homemade pies using fruit from Kimberly Orchards. For tickets, call Jody Foss at 541- 934-2140. The Land’s Inn dinner on Aug. 11 will feature chicken and vegetables from Grimma and Dan Horgan’s Happy Hens farm. For tickets, call Carol or Tom Buce at 541-934-2333. 1809 First Street • Baker City • (541)523-5439 BARGAIN MATINEE IN ( ) Adults $7 ALL FILMS $6 ON TIGHTWAD TUESDAY MOVIE SCHEDULE JUNE 8-14 OCEANS 8 (PG-13) Debbie Ocean gathers an all-female crew to attempt an impossible heist at New York City’s Met Gala. FRI-THURS (4:00) 7:00 9:40 A TTENTION G RANT C OUNTY V ETERANS : BOOK CLUB (PG-13) Did you know a service-connected disabled veteran is entitled to FREE use of Oregon State Parks? Four lifelong friends have their lives changed after reading 50 Shades of Grey in their monthly book club. FRI-THURS (4:10) 7:10 9:45 See your Grant County Veteran Services Officer today for more information, Katee located at Grant County Courthouse. Hoffman SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY (PG-13) Call 541-620-8057 for an appointment 530 E. Main, Ste. 5, John Day, OR Han Solo meets his future copilot Chew- bacca and encounters Lando Calrissian years before joining the Rebellion. FRI-THURS (3:45) 6:45 9:35 49762 $9 Adult, $7 Senior (60+), Youth GROWING GENERATIONS TOGETHER Since 1945, Bank of Eastern Oregon has had roots in eastern Oregon. We believe in the value of a handshake and provide unparalleled and unbiased service because we know you – we are you, your neighbors, and your community members. BEO keeps working hard for you to ensure that our banking services are never difficult. Visit your local branch & let us help you realize your financial dreams. Term Loans Member FDIC Lines of Credit Ag & Commercial Real Estate Loans beobank.com 61702 Blue Mountain Eagle Three rural inns combine food with astronomy
